Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence

There were no apologies for absence received.

To confirm the Minutes of the Meeting held on 8 November 2021.

The Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 8 November 2021 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To receive any declarations of interest

There were no declarations of interest.

To answer any public questions

A period of 30 minutes will be allowed for members of the public to ask questions submitted under notice.

The Council welcomes questions from members of the public about the work of this committee.

Subject to meeting certain timescales, questions can relate to general issues concerned with the work of the Committee or an item which is on the Agenda for this meeting.  For full details of the procedure for submitting questions please contact the Democratic Services Section on the numbers given below or go to www.wokingham.gov.uk/publicquestions

There were no public questions.

To answer any member questions

There were no Member questions.

To receive an update on public toilet provision in the Borough and to receive information from Crohn’s and Colitis UK.

Members received an update on public toilet provision within the Borough from Mark Redfearn, Head of Localities.  Members also considered information provided by Crohn’s and Colitis UK.

During the discussion of this item, the following points were made:

·       The local authority did not have any statutory responsibilities in terms of providing public toilets.

·       In 2009 the Council had moved away from the traditional model to the Local Loos Scheme.  Under this scheme participating local businesses allowed the public access to their toilet facilities and displayed a small sticker or sign to advertise this fact.  There were currently 10 Local Loos across the Borough. 

·       The primary reason for moving to the Local Loos Scheme was to improve the choice and quality of toilet facilities available.  The public toilet facilities at the time had often been subject to vandalism and cost a lot to maintain to an acceptable standard.

·       Members noted the desktop audit of what toilet facilities were available across the Borough.  There were approximately 170 toilets in locations such as petrol stations, garden centres, council buildings and the retail sector. 

·       The Council had only received one specific enquiry in the past year about the availability of public toilets within the Borough.

·       There were not currently that many Changing Places facilities available across the Borough.  This would be taken into account in the development of new community facilities where possible, to increase the number available.  The Head of Localities indicated that new community centre that would be provided as part of the Matthew’s Green development would have a Changing Places facility.

·       It was confirmed that the public toilet located in Peach Place was provided by Wokingham Town Council.  Members felt that signage to this facility could be improved.

·       Members questioned whether signage and publicity around facilities was sufficient and what a review of these would entail.  The Head of Localities commented that there was a need to understand that when people entered the different urban areas, was there sufficient signage to direct them to facilities that they could make use of.  He indicated that there were several existing Town Centre Management Initiatives which could consider this.  Communication and signposting were important.

·       Members referred to the information provided by Crohn’s and Colitis UK, which recommended that local authorities take the lead role in collating and publishing information. 

·       Crohn’s and Colitis UK recommended that ‘Not Every Disability is Visible’ accessible toilet signs should be a requirement in all venues.  A Member suggested that these should be included in facilities that the Council made available, including Council buildings.  This was echoed in the information provided by a local Crohn’s sufferer.  The Head of Localities indicated that this could be addressed with the Facilities team with regards to Council buildings.

·       A Member commented that he had a number of petrol stations in his ward.  He questioned whether the Council could work with these businesses to better advertise available toilet facilities.  The Head of Localities suggested that this could be taken forward via links with the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 50.

To receive an update on the work of Healthwatch Wokingham Borough.

Jim Stockley provided an update on the work of Healthwatch Wokingham Borough.

During the discussion of this item the following points were made:

·       A common theme of communication with Healthwatch was people asking where they could find information about a particular service.

·       Berkshire Healthcare Foundation Trust had asked the Healthwatches in Berkshire West to undertake a survey on the Ageing Well service.  The report would be provided to the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee in the future.

·       GP access and access to NHS dentists continued to be an issue locally.

·       Jim Stockley indicated that he was the Chair of More Arts.  Work was being undertaken around developing the benefits of arts and culture to health and wellbeing in the local community.

RESOLVED: 

1)    That the update on the work of Healthwatch Wokingham Borough be noted.

2)    That Jim Stockley be thanked for his presentation.

To consider the forward programme for the remainder of the municipal year.

The Committee considered the forward programme for the remainder of the municipal year.

During the discussion of this item, the following points were made:

·       Members were reminded of the extraordinary meeting scheduled for 21 February.

·       It was suggested that the update on Health Integration be moved to the February meeting from the March meeting.

·       It was proposed that the Health and Wellbeing Strategy Action Plan be moved to the June meeting.

RESOVLED:  That the forward programme be noted.